This guy went for double trouble. On the left was supposed to be "Saved by Grace", while on the right "John 3:16" in Hebrew. I can tell you right away that his tattoos say nothing of the sort.
The John tattoo is something weird. Quite unreadable, but it definitely doesn't say John nor Yohanan (as the book of John is called in Hebrew). It says Yagan or Saban or maybe even Anne...
The Grace tattoo, however, is far more interesting. See, there isn't always correlation between Hebrew and English word meanings. And so, while "Saved" in English has all sorts of meanings, Hebrew uses different words for save (rescue) and save (put money aside). I bet you can tell which word our victim used.
Basically, instead of "Saved by Grace", this tattoo reads along the lines of "Saved by Mercy [in her bank account]". Yeah, "Grace" is wrong too.
Now, this is how you properly write "Saved by Grace" in Hebrew:
And "John 3:16":
It is truely amazing how with great translation services available online like http://my-hebrew-tattoo.com and others, people still manage to get such horribly wrong Hebrew tattoos
ReplyDeleteAnonymous (with the shameless link in your comment) - too many people have a hard time realizing that Hebrew is something that requires translation, let alone professional translation.
ReplyDeleteIt's not easy to convince someone to actually pay for a translation before paying for the ink job.
especially when its paying for such a dodgy looking website as advertised...
ReplyDeletehow would i seperate "Saved by Grace" in hebrew, if i where getting it tattooed on my wrists.
ReplyDeleteWhy not, instead, out of respect for the temple of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) don't degrade your body with such trash?
ReplyDeleteHesed is not the right translation for grace. Hesed means lovingkindness. Chen (Chet-final nun) means grace.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am not sure how you are trying to render "saved," but no-sei-a' as you currently have it means "being saved" (present participle). Na-su-a' (nun sin vav ayin) would be "saved" -- like past tense. If you are a Christian trying to tattoo yourself in Hebrew, which in my mind is really questionable, you should probably go to a reputable Hebrew translation of the New Testament to see how they have rendered the verse in question.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous who posted the last two comments: You're wrong on both counts. Please consult a Hebrew dictionary before commenting next time.
ReplyDeleteWisdom. Thank you.
DeleteSometimes I really wonder where people like Anonymous here get this information they are so utterly sure is correct...
ReplyDelete@ Reut from google translate...haha.
ReplyDelete